John L. McDougall
Arbitration Place
333 Bay Street,
Suite 900 Toronto,
Ontario M5H 2R2 Canada
Appointed Queen’s Counsel, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Elected an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple. Has served as chairman and as panel member in numerous international and domestic arbitrations involving a wide range of commercial disputes. Served as Chairman of the Canadian National Arbitration Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce and is presently a Canadian representative to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. Member of other panels of international arbitrators including the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and sits on the ICDR Canadian Advisory Committee, the CPR Institute, the American Arbitration Association, the ADR Institute of Canada, the BC International Arbitration Centre, the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre
Canadian Bar Association; Canadian Council of Business; International Law Association; Canadian Institute for International Affairs; International Bar Association; Osgoode Society; Commercial Bar Association of England and Wales (Honorary Member); Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Member, Canadian Arbitration Panel; International Arbitrational Panel, Vancouver
Past cases have involved contracts, franchises, securities, insurance and reinsurance, joint ventures, oil and gas, heavy equipment, IT technology, source codes, fiduciary obligations and general corporate disputes. Significant cases in the last several years include:
* Chair of an arbitration tribunal in a major re-insurance arbitration subject to New York law held in Bermuda under the Bermuda International Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Issues included the role and function of the Financial Services Administration in the sale of life insurance in Britain and the interpretation of the relevant insurance and re-insurance contracts.
* Chair of an arbitration tribunal constituted under the rules of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) involving a dispute between the Canadian partially-owned subsidiary of a New York brokerage firm. The case involved issues of fiduciary responsibilities and contract interpretation.
* Chair of the ICC arbitration arising out of frauds at an Austrian Bank, subject to New York law, seated in New York City (NYC).
* Chair of an ICDR arbitration arising out of claims between reinsurance and medical insurance providers in the USA. Subject to California law seated in NYC.
* Member of an arbitration tribunal convened to appraise the value of two properties under long term leases in the premier rental area of Toronto.
* Member of an arbitration tribunal constituted under ICDR rules which heard a dispute between a Swiss based commodities broker and a U.S. based aluminum smelter. The issue was centred on the question whether the feedstock supplier was entitled to declare force majeure with respect to its contractual obligations because of the prevailing economic condition. The case was conducted under New York law and was seated in New York City.
* Member of the arbitration tribunal involving a dispute between a Saudi Arabian investor in a venture capital firm arising from allegations of improvident investments and misrepresentation. The hearings were held in San Francisco and London, England and the arbitration was conducted under California law.
* Chair of an ad hoc arbitral tribunal hearing a dispute between a major US-based global vendor of office hardware and a European-based vendor of software. The issues included the ownership and alleged misuse of source codes.
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje, 2015 SCC 42 Cross-border Litigation session, Philippe Kirsch Institute CPD Conference, Toronto, ON, November 27, 2015; Rough weather ahead: Preserving the right to arbitrate, compelling arbitration, jurisdictional challenges, interlocutory relief, third-party practice. “Setting Sail with International Arbitration” conference, The Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation, Atlanta, GA, September 30, 2015; The First Procedural Conference: The First Chance to Win or Lose? Commercial Arbitration 2015; Taking Advantage of User Control, Affinity Institute, Vancouver, BC, June 5, 2015; Developments in International Arbitration, 9th Annual WCCAS Energy, Mining and Resources Arbitration Conference, Calgary, AB, May 12, 2015